Crash-Course in Birdnapping
by Alex Skywalker
Summary: Dick Grayson jumped on the opportunity to pick up his three younger brothers from school, in hopes of getting to spend some time with the three boys, but nothing ever goes as planned with the Batfamily. They've all been kidnapped before, but never all at the same time, together. How will this turn out? Request from XxNeonShadowsxX
1. Part I

**A/N: **Hello everybody! This is a story requested by XxNeonShadowsxX. It will be two parts and I will post the second part next week!

In this story:

Dick is 18

Jason is 16

Tim is 13

Damian is 10

This is before Jason dies in Young Justice and hence before Wally quits/retires. Dick is Nightwing and lives in Blüdhaven. Jason is obviously still Robin and Tim and Damian are in training (Damian recently arrived) and I will leave it up to you what they go by as heroes. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Crash-Course in Birdnapping

Part I

* * *

"Shut up, Tim, no one cares."

Dick glared at his younger brother. "Jason." He hissed.

"It's true. Whatever happened to honesty is the best policy? And keep your eyes on the road!" Jason shoved his older brother's face back towards the road. "Knew I should've drove." He muttered under his breath.

"I don't think anyone was in the mood to crash today." Tim shot back from the backseat of Dick's Lexus. "And it's _driven_."

Dick grabbed the front of Jason's jacket as he started to make a lunge for Tim, trying to keep the wheel steady at the same time.

"While Grayson's driving leaves much to be desired, I must agree with Drake that it's far more desirable than Todd's."

"Demon." Jason muttered, shooting a look to the youngest.

"Street rat." Was the hissed reply.

"Devil's spawn."

"Inferior."

"Damian! Jason! Please, just act civil for once?" Dick begged, glancing in the review mirror to give Damian a pleading look.

They both muttered under their breaths but didn't say anymore and Dick sighed in relief. As much as he loved spending time with his brothers, and as much as he'd jumped on Bruce's request for him to pick them up from school, there was a limit to how much even he could handle.

Dick turned off the main road and onto the country road that led to Wayne Manor, slightly off the beaten path. Dick didn't mind the location of the manor - he actually appreciated it even more now that he was living in the inner city in a small apartment building - but he always hated driving on the road leading to it. He didn't know why, as he'd driven it too many times to count and Alfred countless more, not to mention there were rarely any other cars at all on it, but for some reason it didn't sit well with him. Maybe it was the curviness, or the hilliness, or the fact that it was bordered by treacherous drops into thick forest on either side, but whatever the reason, Dick hated it.

"Woah, look, road kill." Tim leaned forward in his seat to look out the windshield. "Looks like a big one."

"Dick probably hit it on the way here." Jason slouched farther down in the seat, not even looking out the window.

"I didn't even come this way." Dick replied, leaning forward slightly and searching the road. His eyes soon caught what Tim was talking about and saw that it was indeed a dead animal of some kind. As they got closer to it, Dick saw that it was a deer, though so mangled it was almost impossible to tell.

"Ugh." Tim groaned, looking away.

At Tim's groan Jason sat up and looked at the deer. "It's definitely dead." He said, looking mildly disgusted.

"It was obviously hit by something pretty big." Tim was shooting brief glances at it as they passed.

"Tt, even an idiot can see that." Damian scoffed, giving the dead deer only a quick glance.

"Maybe Bruce hit it last night." Jason said, implying that the Batmobile was involved. "It looks pretty fresh."

"Maybe..." As Dick drove past the deer, his sharp eyes took in the details and he felt a shudder run through him at what he saw.

The side of the deer facing upwards, the right side, was caved in, the animal's ribs obviously broken, and Dick could see a few spots of bone peeking through the matted, bloody fur. Its head was crushed as well, barely recognizable, and its legs were sticking out at odd angles from its body. Jason was right: it looked newly dead, fresh blood still oozing out of its wounds. Its head was facing towards the manor so that as Dick drove, the legs were the first part the car passed. That meant….

"Whoever hit it was going this direction." Dick muttered.

"Hm?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow at his older brother.

"I just said that whoever hit it was heading towards the manor."

"Told you it was Bruce."

"I'd think Father to be aware of such things as a deer." Damian retorted.

"I'd think so too. But they can be hard to spot sometimes." Dick added the last part quickly, hoping to avoid another argument.

"Why would it be anyone else but Bruce?" Tim asked.

"It was probably that incompetent delivery man." Damian huffed, seeming uninterested in the conversation.

"No way that guy's truck could do that to a deer." Jason retorted.

Dick had to agree with Jason, but he wasn't about to say that. He hoped whatever had hit the deer was simply a lost semi and had already realized his mistake and was halfway to who knows where, because, for some reason, Dick had a bad feeling about the situation. A foreboding that he couldn't seem to shake off.

"Tt, he was probably going far too fast and his momentum was what did it." Damian continued, shooting glares at Jason. "If we're lucky, he died too."

"Dami!" Dick exclaimed, turning around and glaring at his younger brother.

"I'm just stating what we all are thinking." The younger boy pointed, hunching slightly in his seat. "And pay attention, Grayson!"

As Dick turned back around he heard a low mutter of "incompetent fool", but ignored it.

The car fell silent for a minute or two and Dick rubbed his eyes, the idea of bed sounding wonderful at the moment. It'd been a busy week in Blüdhaven and he couldn't remember the last time he'd had a full night's sleep. Dick realized those were probably not the best thoughts while driving, though he knew he'd be able to stay awake for another twenty-four if not forty-eight hours if he had to. But he sincerely hoped he wouldn't have to.

_Just take the kids home, _he thought, _and then you can go back to Blüdhaven and sleep until Tuesday. _ But then, he'd also been hoping he'd get to spend some time with his brothers in the evening as it was Friday and they were all off school the next day. Bruce had invited him over for dinner (not that he ever really needed an invitation as it seemed there was always someone who wanted him to come over every night) and he'd been looking forward to the idea of some real, quality food for a change. Maybe he could just take a nap on the couch….

As they rounded a particularly sharp bend in the road, Dick glanced momentarily over at Jason, who'd pulled out his phone and was fiddling with it, then in the rearview mirror at Tim, a book open in his lap, and Damian, leaning against the door, his cheek smushed against the window as he glared out. Dick smiled, looking away and back to the road... only to stamp on the brakes and swerve to the right as a giant truck barreled towards the car.

Tim screamed, Damian gasped, Jason grunted, and Dick prayed they wouldn't die. The front of the truck slammed into the left side of the front of the car, sending it flying sideways and spinning wildly off the edge of the road and down the side of the ditch. Dick watched as the front of his car was flattened into the windshield and felt the glass shatter around him, cutting his face and arms. He felt his body slam forward into his seatbelt, momentarily wondering where the heck the airbag was before his head banged on the steering wheel and his thoughts went fuzzy. He was aware of something slamming into his left arm, followed by a sharp pain, and smashing and crashing and then everything was still.

Dick groaned, blinking, trying to clear his foggy vision. Lights were flashing around the edge of his vision and he shook his head, though nearly crying out in pain as it hurt. He managed to turn his head to his right and saw Jason, glass falling out of his hair as he shook his head, his face covered in tiny cuts.

"Jay," Dick croaked, raising his right arm and putting it on his younger brother's shoulder.

"What happened?" The boy groaned.

"We got hit…." His face stung when he talked.

"No way." Jason paused a moment before turning to Dick. "Are the others okay?"

"Timmy, Damian, are you guys alright?" Dick struggled to pivot in his seat to see behind him.

"I'm fine." Damian managed to drawl, though looking a little less than fine. "Drake's not though."

"Timmy?" Dick had a brief war with his seatbelt before Jason reached over and cut it off with his pocketknife. Free, Dick was finally able to see the boy clearly. He was pale, his eyes closed and head flopped forward. Dick didn't see any blood, which was a good sign, but he knew enough about internal injuries not to thank any stars yet. Leaning forward, Dick put a hand to his brother's neck, feeling for a pulse. There was one, thank goodness.

"We gotta get him out of the car." Dick announced, moving to open his door. He found it wouldn't budge. Upon closer inspection he saw that the hinges were completely destroyed from the impact.

"Come out my way."

Dick looked over and saw Jason standing outside the car, his door hanging open. Dick crawled across the seats, gasping as pain shot through his left arm. Jason grabbed him under his right arm and pulled him out, making Dick painfully aware of how tall Jason was getting. He was already taller than Dick!

"Thanks," Dick gasped, noting vaguely that Jason was on his feet, looking pale, but at least able to stand. He also noticed that they were now standing at the edge of the woods, trees surrounding the car, one of which was now standing in the trunk.

"We must've rolled down the hill." Dick muttered, gazing back up the steep incline, unable to see the road.

"Who the hell hit us?" Jason demanded, also shooting a look up towards the road.

"You didn't see?"

"No, _you _were driving."

"They got us right as we were going around the turn. I didn't even know they were there until they rammed into us. It was some type of huge truck, I think."

Jason growled angrily. "Well, they better come find us. What idiot drives on the wrong side of the road? 'Cause I assume they were and not you."

Dick only rolled his eyes, brushing past Jason and trying the other door nearest Tim. It was stuck as well.

"Here, let me." Jason stepped forward and grasped the handle before yanking violently. The door flew open and proceeded to fly off its hinges. Dick glared and Jason shrugged, tossing it aside.

"Timmy?" Dick stuck his head in by his younger brother, a hand going to his shoulder and gently shaking him. There was no response. His fingers brushed over Tim's neck, feeling for any injuries; he couldn't risk moving him if his neck was damaged in any way. He didn't find any and so leaned across the younger boy's body and fumbled for the seatbelt.

"Let me do it." Jason pushed him aside and deftly cut the seatbelt, freeing the younger boy.

Dick reached behind his back and under his legs and began to lift him out of the car. "Grab his head," He ordered to Jason, sliding Tim out of the car, Jason supporting his head, before gently lowering himself and Tim to the ground a few feet away. Damian had crawled out of the car after them and Dick watched as he haltingly stumbled over to where his older brothers were, noting the slight limp in his gate.

"Where is the bas-" He started, stopping when he saw the look Dick gave him. "-Who did this?" He finished, narrowing his eyes at Dick.

"That idiot should be here." Jason muttered, flicking his pocket knife out, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"He's probably hurt too." Dick replied, carefully bringing Tim's head back to rest on his arm.

"More likely drunk." Jason scowled.

Dick didn't reply, his eyes instead riveted to the large gash across Tim's forehead, steadily oozing blood. It would definitely need stiches. _He must've hit it on the hard part on the back of the seat, _Dick thought, carefully brushing dark bangs off the wound. As he did this, he felt Tim start to stir, a small groan escaping his mouth as his eyes slowly opened.

"Hey, Timmy," Dick murmured, holding him steady as he tried to bolt up.

"Ugh, what happened?" His voice cracked slightly at the end and Jason snickered.

"We were hit by some drunken idiot." Damian told him. "And you obviously hit your head."

Tim groaned again, turning to the side and abruptly puking. Jason jumped back, a look of mild disgust on his face.

"Ugh, Tim."

"You probably have a concussion. You'll need medical attention as soon as possible." Dick said as he rubbed the boy's back, wincing as his arm twinged in pain. "Jason, could you grab the first aid kit from my car? It's under the passenger seat. And speaking of which, Jason, Damian, we should look at your injuries too."

"Speak for yourself." Jason scowled as headed back towards the car. "You should see your face."

"Tt, your face is hardly any better, Todd."

"Point taken." Dick cut in, realizing again the pain in his face when he talked. He just hoped there wasn't any glass still in the cuts. "We should take stock of injuries. But first, we should try to get back towards the road. Jason, can you call Bruce?"

"I lost my phone when we crashed." Jason called, his head stuck in the car.

"Fine, use mine." But as Dick reached back in his pocket for his phone, his arm exploded in pain. "Agh!"

Jason, Damian, and Tim looked at him, expressions ranging from worry to questioning annoyance. Dick hissed, bringing his left arm forward and gingerly rolling back the sleeve. He found his wrist and hand were bruised and swollen.

"Injuries." Jason nodded, dropping the first aid kit next to Dick before reaching around and pulling Dick's phone out of his pocket. It was surprisingly undamaged, apart from the crack that had been there since Dick had accidently dropped it down his stairs. But that was aside from the point.

"Alright," Dick said, pulling his right arm out from under Tim, letting the boy lean against his chest instead, and popped open the first aid kit, pulling out a tub of antiseptic. He looked up at Jason. "Jason, call Bruce while I clean Tim's cut and then 911. That trucker's probably at least a little shaken up."

"Call Bruce before the police and hospital?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "You really are daddy's boy."

Dick scowled before opening the antiseptic and pulling back Tim's bangs. "This'll sting a little." He told him as he began gently rubbing the goopy paste onto the wound, wiping away the blood around it with a small, white towel from the kit. Why someone would put a white towel in a first aid kit, Dick didn't know, unless it was so you could tell just how much blood you were really cleaning up. He felt Tim wince a little under his touch but was soon done, glad no dirt had gotten into the wound, and started wrapping a roll of gauze around the younger boy's head.

"You gonna call someone or what?" Dick asked, looking up at Jason as he finished tying off the gauze.

"No signal." Jason growled.

Dick sighed. "Then come here and let me clean those cuts on your face."

"How 'bout we get up to the road first, _mom._"

"Fine," Dick agreed, sending his damaged arm one last glance before threading his arms under his younger brother, who was looking pretty pale out of it, though slightly better without blood running down his face. Dick began to lift him up, biting back a groan as his arm protested.

"How 'bout I carry the replacement." Jason suggested, turning around and offering his back. Dick was surprised at Jason's helpfulness, but gently eased Tim onto the other boy's back nonetheless.

"You gotta hold on, okay Timmy?" Dick brushed hair out his face.

"I got him." Jason hooked his arms under the thirteen-year-old's knees. "Just don't lean backwards."

"Kay," Tim managed to mumble, burying his face in Jason's shirt. The older boy took a good grip and started up the steep slope.

Dick turned back to Damian who had been surprisingly silent the whole time. He was standing a little ways away, leaning slightly against a tree, his face twisted into a slight scowl.

"Ready, Dami?" He asked, rising slowly until he was standing. His head still spun a little, but he'd hit it on something so it wasn't a surprise.

"Of course." The younger boy answered, standing up straighter.

Dick gave his wrecked car a long look, taking in for the first time the full extent of the damage. The front end was smashed up nearly to the windshield, the left side obviously taking more of the hit. The driver's door was destroyed along with part of the left side of the car. The entire vehicle was covered in dents and scratches from all the trees it had hit on its decent and the trunk was bent around the trunk of a tree, the cause of their stop of descent.

Looking at it now, Dick was surprised none of them were hurt worse than they were now. It seemed almost impossible, especially with the lack of airbag deployment, something he couldn't help wondering about. But now wasn't the time. Once Bruce got there, he could tell the older man about it, but now Dick had to get his younger siblings out of the woods. Literally.

Dick started climbing up the embankment after Jason, trusting Damian to follow his lead. It was steep; Dick was surprised Jason was managing to climb it with Tim on his back as he found himself grasping trees for support as he made his way up. Halfway to the top he turned, expecting to find Damian right behind him, but instead the boy was still standing at the bottom. Dick narrowed his eyes, looking for the source of Damian's hesitance and saw a grimace of pain flash over the ex-assassin's features as he tried to take another step.

Without a second thought, Dick slid back down, grabbing a tree at the last minute to slow his descent right next to his youngest brother.

"What's wrong?"

"I fear I have damaged my ankle." His voice was tight.

"Why didn't you say something before?" Dick sighed. "Do you want me to carry you?"

"Tt, don't be ridiculous. I am not as weak as Drake as to need to be carried like a child."

Dick sighed but wrapped his right arm around the younger boy's waist. "Just lean on me," he told him, taking Damian's weight as he began the ascent once more. It was a few minutes before they finally made it to the top and by the time they did, Jason had already set Tim on the ground against another tree and was a few yards down the road, Dick's phone held to his ear, cursing loudly.

Once they were on flat ground, Damian shook off Dick's arm and limped over to a tree near Tim and leaned against it, scowl still in place. Dick shot him a worried glance before going over Tim.

"You okay, buddy?" Dick asked, crouching down next to the boy.

Tim only stared at him, his eyes slightly glazed and his face screwed up in pain. The gauze Dick had wrapped around his head was already red with blood and he was sweating slightly, despite the cool air.

"Bruce'll be here soon." Dick whispered before standing and turning towards Jason. "Jay, what's wrong?"

"It still can't get a signal!" The dark haired boy growled, turning and stalking back towards the group. "Something's gotta be messing with the signals; we normally get reception all through this area!"

"Maybe we're in a dead spot." Dick sighed, taking the phone from Jason and examining it.

"Don't move."

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please review!  
**

**Alex out.**


	2. Part II

**A/N: **So here is part two of Crash-Course in Birdnapping. I hope you enjoy and thank you to everyone who reviewed the first part! Review responses will be at the bottom.

* * *

Crash-Course in Birdnapping

Part II

* * *

"_Don't move." _

The voice was slightly accented and followed by an ominous click of a gun.

Dick froze before slowly raising his head, briefly slipping his phone into his pocket, and turning around. There was a man pointing a gun at him, tall, well-built, clean shaven with high cheek bones and blonde hair, his face, expressionless. Dick watched as men suddenly materialized from the woods, all armed with either firearms or, as was the case with a few, heavy baseball bats. Dick unconsciously shuddered.

"Hands above your heads." The blonde man commanded, his accent resembling Alfred's, though his voice nothing like the elderly butler's.

Dick lifted his hands into the air, watching out of the corner of his eye as Jason did the same. He only hoped Damian would comply as well.

"Merlin, get the van." The blonde man, obviously the leader, barked again, keeping his gun trained at Dick. "Alright boys, let's do this the easy way." He began slowly advancing on them, his face impassive. "You can see that you're wildly outnumbered. Come quietly and I won't blow your faces up."

Dick heard a cry behind him and whirled around, any thoughts of getting his face blown off, irrelevant. He saw a large, Hispanic man pulling Tim into a headlock, a gun pointing at the boy's temple. Dick felt rage overtake him as he charged, a fierce yell tearing itself from his throat as all he wanted to do was rip the man limb from limb. His first punch was readying itself to fly in the man's face when the click of a gun made him freeze.

"Watch yourself now, Mr. Grayson." The leader warned, his gun pointing casually in the air. "You wouldn't want your brothers to suffer the consequences of your impulsive actions, would you?"

Dick turned his head to where Jason and Damian stood; both were now surrounded by three men each, guns pointed at them and bats poised to strike. They were both glaring angrily at the men, though thankfully had enough peace of mind to remain still and not try anything stupid or Jason-Damian-ish.

Letting his arms fall, Dick turned back to the blonde leader.

"Don't hurt them."

"As long as you cooperate." The man smiled, his teeth perfectly white and straight and Dick could see how he would be charming, if he weren't commanding a group of highly armed men that were currently aiming all their firepower at his little brothers. Yes, besides that, very charming.

"Fine." Dick knew he was beat. Beat even before he began. Even if they weren't all injured, there was no way they could take out a group of ten armed men, already surrounded, without revealing their secret identities. He wasn't even sure they could if they gave it everything they had.

"I thought so." The man nodded and one of the thugs who'd been hovering around Tim hurried over and produced a pair of thick handcuffs. "Lock this one up good. Circus Brat; knows all the tricks. Then radio Merlin and tell him to get the van over here."

The thug nodded before roughly yanking Dick hands behind his back, the eighteen-year-old trying to hold back a cry as the man gripped his injured wrist. He heard grunts and protests as his own handcuffs were secured and could only watch as his other brothers were similarly treated. Damian, relatively calm until now, lashed out when they tried to bind him, kicking out at the men surrounding him and trying to head-butt them the stomach.

"Hold still ya little brat!" One of them hissed, raising his bat and bringing it down on the boy's shoulder, earning from him a slight cry.

"Damian!" Dick shouted, shaking off the thug behind him and sprinting over to his youngest brother, handcuffs and all. Before he got there, however, something heavy connected with his side and was sent stumbling away, gasping in pain.

"What did I just tell you?!" Exclaimed the blonde leader, suddenly at Dick's side and grasping his shoulders. "Next time it's a bullet through _his _head, got it?"

Dick nodded, still panting slightly while they finished securing the cuffs on Damian. The other men led Jason and Tim, the latter of whom was standing, though looking extremely pale and weak, over to Dick and Damian, weapons never dropping from their state of vigilance. Almost as soon as they were all gathered together, a giant, white, truck-like van, like a moving van, careened around the corner, screeching to a halt in front of the group.

Dick immediately took in the huge, heavy, metal front bumper and the dents and scratches on it. This was what hit their car.

"Get 'em in the back." Their leader ordered, shoving Dick into another man's arms.

Dick allowed himself to be manhandled into the back of the truck and shoved harshly to the cold, metal floor, Jason following him and then Damian and Tim. Once they were all in, the doors were slammed shut and darkness overtook them, broken only by the thin shafts of light slipping through the seams.

"Well this sucks." Jason growled, sounds of clanking alerting Dick to his movements.

Dick sighed, struggling until he was sitting before scooting over until he was leaning against the wall of the truck. He could vaguely hear shouting coming from outside before the truck roared to life, lurching forward and bumping viciously as it began to pick up speed, driving away from the manor. Twisting his arms painfully, Dick reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, wondering why they hadn't taken it away. He turned it on, the glow of the screen illuminating the darkness.

"You still have your phone?" Jason exclaimed.

"I still have mine too." Tim whispered quietly.

Dick shone the light from his phone around the truck trailer, each of his brothers' faces glowing in the pale, bluish light. Jason was against the wall to his left and Damian, the wall to his right, while Tim was huddled in the corner between him and Jason, looking miserable.

"You okay, Timmy?" The eighteen-year-old slid closer to his younger brother.

"I'll be okay."

"Tt, are you going to call someone, Grayson, or just sit there and coddle Drake." While Damian sounded as bratty as always, his voice had lost some of its bravado and Dick thought he heard the whispers of a scared little boy somewhere in his tone.

Ignoring this, he carefully brought his arms over his head, feeling his shoulders pop slightly as the joints spun around in a circle. He could tell Jason was glaring at him in disgust but didn't acknowledge it, instead hitting Bruce's speed dial. He raised the phone to his ear, only to hear a beep and looked down to see he didn't have a signal.

"What?" Jason demanded, inching closer.

"No signal…." Dick stared at the phone, letting it rest in his cuffed hands in his lap.

"Told you." Jason growled. "Their van must be messing with the signal."

"There's no way _this _thing is capable of interfering with cell phone signals." Damian retorted.

"They probably have another vehicle." Dick mused. "No way did they all fit in the front of this van."

Tim sat up a little straighter. "It probably has something transmitting radio waves that are throwing off your phone, and mine's, regular frequencies."

"That can't be legal." Jason scowled.

"And kidnapping is?" Dick sighed, testing the cuffs on wrists, hissing and stopping when pain shot through his left arm.

"No use." Jason breathed, obviously having guessed what he was doing. "Falcone issued these handcuffs to his top crime bosses back before he was arrested. No way you're getting out of them."

Dick nodded, accepting Jason's street knowledge. He turned his phone's flashlight on, letting it shine around their gloomy prison.

"Who do you think these guys are, anyways?" Tim asked, his face ghostly pale in the LED light.

"I've never seen any of them before." Dick replied, lightly flexing the fingers of his damaged hand.

"Me neither." Jason added. "From the looks of them, they're after a ransom."

"Why else would they capture us?" Damian scoffed.

Jason glared at him but made no other moves towards aggression and Dick inwardly smiled.

"But how'd they know we would all be coming this way together?" Tim's voice was stronger than before and Dick attributed it to adrenaline. At least he wouldn't have to worry about the boy falling asleep.

"They were probably watching for the past week or so and learned your schedule." Dick told him. "It was just lucky that I was with you today, I guess."

Tim nodded very slightly in understanding and all four boys fell silent.

The truck continued moving along and after a few minutes Dick could tell they'd turned back onto the main roads and were probably heading into the heart of the city. Tim's head slowly started to tip to the side and Dick allowed the younger boy to lean on him, though kept an eye on his eyes to make sure they didn't close. Dick had no idea how bad his little brother's concussion was, but from the way the boy was acting, it didn't look good.

Dick shot periodic glances at his other two brothers, watching to see if they showed any signs of head injuries or other injuries. Jason looked fine, though pale, and Dick hoped that he wasn't concealing anything serious. Outwardly he looked okay, other than the small cuts that littered his face and arms, but Dick knew the boy wouldn't have said anything even if he was dying (well, maybe not quite that extreme, but almost). Damian was the same way.

Sighing, Dick reached down and picked up his phone, shining it at each of his brother's in turn. "Alright guys," he said, putting on a serious, no-nonsense face. "It looks like we'll be in here a while, so Damian, you should let me look at your ankle and Jason, I need to make sure you don't have any glass in those cuts."

"Oh save it, Dick," Jason groaned. "I'm fine. But what about you? You have cuts too, and something's obviously wrong with your arm."

"We can worry about that after I look at you."

"I have the superior lineage, Grayson. My injuries are minor compared to the three of you."

"That's not what it looked like out on the hill."

"Tt."

"Guys, can we like, not fight right now?" Tim mumbled, pressing his face slightly into Dick's shoulder.

"We're not fighting," Jason retorted. "We're having a my-horse-is-bigger-than-your-horse argument and Dick's being a stubborn you-know-what."

"There is no argument, Todd. When Thompkins measured, my horse was clearly bigger than all of your horses."

"It's an expression, Dami."

"Oh."

"But Tim's right," Dick continued. "The really isn't the time to argue. Jason, if you'd just let me-"

"This isn't helping the argument here, Goldie."

"I-"

And then all four of them jerked forward and Dick winced as the motion jarred his head. There was a screeching noise followed by a loud hissing and then voices filled the air, rough and often heavily accented. Before Dick knew what was happening, the back door of the van was yanked open and the small space was quickly invaded by five or six large men, at least four of which had cigarettes or cigars hanging out of their mouths. The smell of smoke quickly permeated the air and Dick heard Damian coughing and gagging as large hands grasped the boys and began manhandling them out of the truck.

They were bodily thrown from the back of the truck and easily caught by more large men. The man who'd caught Dick threw him over his shoulder and began carrying him as though he weighed nothing. Dick struggled to free his arms from where they were pinned beneath him, but stopped when he felt the cold metal of a gun mouth at the back of his neck.

Looking up and over his carrier's shoulder, Dick saw that his brothers were being similarly handled, even Jason who'd recently put on a lot of muscle and was becoming very tall for his age. They were being carried away from the truck, which was now parked in an empty lot, off the main streets, next to another truck covered in high-tech radio equipment – what had been jamming their cell signals. They were heading towards a large building that looked like it had once been an office building but was probably shut down a few years ago and had since been converted into a gang hideout.

The building was one of three that created a semi-circle around the abandoned parking lot and they all looked like they were in use by not-so-friendly citizens. One of the others, next to the one where the boys were being taken to, was also an office building and, like the first one, had graffiti covering its sides. The windows were all boarded up, and the door was heavily padlocked, but it didn't look abandoned at all. Anyone would be able to tell there were people living in it, bad characters, and Dick assumed that was why the buildings hadn't been demolished already.

The third building looked like more like an old garage, with apartments on top, and it as well looked in use, but not for its originally intended purposes. One of the garage doors had a giant snake painted on it weaving its way through a smiling skull (though all skulls looked like they were smiling, this one was positively grinning). There were old car parts scattered around the outside of the building along with small heaps of garbage and a few weapons. The windows of the apartments above the garage were boarded shut like the first building, but Dick could see the shadows of figures moving around through the cracks in the boards.

It was getting dark out, Dick noticed, as they reached the door of the first building and the blonde haired man stepped forward and began fiddling with the padlock. Though it wasn't quite five o'clock yet, the days were getting shorter and shadows were already starting to stretch across the old parking lot, casting strange shadows on the walls of the buildings. It was creepy.

The blonde man gave the padlock one last jerk and it came open. He stepped back and another man stepped forward and began unwinding the chains from around the door. Once the door was free, the blonde man pushed it open and moved to the side, allowing a few men to slip in.

"Edwin, Carlos, you two stay out here and get the trucks in the garage," the blonde man ordered. "The rest of you come with me."

Dick gasped a little as the man carrying him hoisted him higher on his shoulder. The party all squeezed in through the door, Dick's head almost knocking against the handle as his carrier shouldered his way inside. Dick tried to keep his head up to make sure his brothers all stayed together, but a cuff to the head by a skinny, red-haired man made him give up the attempt.

The inside of the building looked nothing like Dick was expecting. It was dark, the only light coming from orangeish-red tinted light bulbs placed along the walls like torches. The room they walked into first looked like a dungeon, with slimey-looking brick floors and brick walls and columns circling the room. In the center of the room there was a long table, empty, with chairs scattered randomly around it. The ceiling was low and Dick could hear water dripping from hidden cracks around the room. Dick figured that the gang that took over the building must have torn down all the drywall and the building was left with only its original brick. That meant it was an old building, from old Gotham, meaning they were in the heart of the city.

"Alright boys," The blonde leader stood near the middle of the room. "Put them down over there in the corner. I'm hoping to make quick work of this. Keep the guns on them. If any of them scream, shoot another one. They are each other's weaknesses."

"Imbecils!" Damian shouted as he was roughly deposited on the ground in the corner. "I have no weaknesses. These fools are nothing to me."

"Oh really." The blonde man smiled as he began stalking over. "Shall we test that theory?"

Dick grit his teeth as he was dropped down next Damian, glaring daggers at the boy. Stupid Damian.

The man reached down and grasped Dick's arm, pulling him to his feet so the younger's head was under the blonde man's chin. Dick tried to struggle, but the man was impressively strong and considerably bigger and taller than Dick's acrobatic build and had Dick in a death grip. The man's breath was tickling his ear and it smelled like peppermint and spicy peppers.

"Your older brother, right?" The man asked, running a hand through Dick's hair. "I've heard you've taken a liking to him."

"That's not true," Damian retorted. Dick knew he was lying to try to protect Dick, but Dick wished he would just shut up.

"It's not?" The man didn't sound surprised. "Well, then you won't care if I deliver a round in his brain, will you?"

Damian's eyes grew wide and Dick felt the gun press against his temple.

"Shut up, you brat." Jason growled, knocking his shoulder into Damian. Tim, who was leaning against a pillar, was looking more awake now than before and his mouth was drawn into a tight line.

"Don't worry, boys." The man laughed a little. "I won't do that. But I could. I definitely could." He paused here, tightening his grip around Dick and Dick felt the pressure on his injured arm. "Do you know who I am?" There was a pause and then he continued. "My name's Lincoln Lee and I'm the leader of the Snake's Skull in the UK. They called me in, said they had a special job for me in the States. Because I'm the best. I'm the most ruthless. They knew I wouldn't hesitate to do what needs to be done." Here he shook Dick and glared at each of the brother's in turn. "And I won't.

"I'll make more money off of this if you're all alive, but then again, maybe Bruce'll pay for a dead body if he doesn't know it's dead." Lee smirked again. And then he whispered quietly in Dick's ear: "Keep them calm or Drake'll be the first one to go." Lee's hand was slowly snaking its way down Dick's left arm until it stopped at his wrist and starting squeezing.

Dick nodded slightly that he understood. Lee's grip tightened more and more and Dick felt the pain increasing steadily as the bones in his wrist rubbed together. He fought back a scream but finally let loose a pained yelp when Lee twisted the damaged appendage. The older man then released Dick and shoved him away back towards the corner. Dick was unable to catch himself and landed on Jason with an "oof".

"Gerroff me!" Jason yelped, shoving his older brother to the side.

Dick sat up gasping slightly and ran his hand over his bruised wrist as best he could. He held no doubt in his mind now that it was broken and the pain, which since the accident had somehow dissipated almost entirely, was now back in full force.

"Merlin, Jacques, search them," Lee was ordering, already walking away from the four brothers. "You three, Henry, Enrique, Lewis, guard them. Santiago will be here in an hour and then we'll make the call to Wayne."

Two men walked over, one very large and the other average with white hair and a beard, though his face looked young. Dick hoped he was Merlin. The two men started patting them down and Dick let them. Their guards, three burly men, had guns already trained on them and Dick figured they wouldn't miss at this close of range. And he still kept in mind Lee's threat. Damian and Jason were surprisingly complacent as well and Dick figured Lee's demonstration had left an impression on them too. Once their phones, watches, shoes and belts had been removed (the last caused Dick's paranoia to spike), Merlin and Jacques retreated down a hallway, depositing the things on the table in the center of the room before making their exit.

Soon it was only the four brothers and their guards and this lead Dick to believe that the main gang hangout was further into the building. The guards were silent for a while, keeping their guns sharply trained at the brothers at all times, but after a few minutes they started to relax and one even pulled up a chair. Dick took this as a sign that it would be okay if he talked.

"Tim, how're you doing?" He asked, scooting closer to his brother. The guards glanced over at the noise but otherwise made no move to shut Dick up.

"I'm fine," the boy replied. "My head doesn't hurt as bad now and I don't feel as tired."

Dick sighed in relief. "Good. Tell me if it starts hurting again. Dami, what about you? How's your ankle?"

"For the last time, Grayson, I am fine."

"Just let him worry," Jason cut in. "He doesn't know what else to do with himself."

"Shut up, Jason."

"Strong words there, Goldie. I am your little brother after all. Wouldn't wanna hurt my feelings."

"Wait," One of the guards had taken an interest in their conversation and was now looking between the four of them. "You alls are brothers?"

"Yeah, Lewis, they're them Wayne kids," another guard, the one in the chair, replied.

"They don't looks much like Wayne if'n you ask me," Lewis responded, eyeing the four of them suspiciously.

"That's cuz they're all adopted," the second guard explained. "They ain't related or nothin'."

"I'm not adopted!" Damian shouted.

"Oh, yeah, guess that makes sense," Lewis nodded, ignoring Damian. "Whadda you think Ed?"

The third guard just shrugged.

"Huh, yeah, me too."

"He didn't say nothin', idiot," the guard in the chair growled.

"I heard him," Dick interjected. "Didn't you Tim?"

"Yeah, of course I did. Jason?"

"What are you talking about, Replacement? He just shrugged."

"No, uh uh," Lewis argued. "I for sures heard him. Just like those two did."

"Well then what did 'e say?" The chair guard demanded.

"'E said that 'e didn't think them boys looked like each others at all. 'Cept them hairs."

"And then he said some pretty nasty stuff about us too," Dick continued.

"Yeah, like we look like street trash," Tim supplied. "And Bruce probably found us in a hovel."

"Or a cult."

"I do not look like I'm from a hovel!" Damain interrupted indignantly. "How dare you accuse me of that, Drake. I am from the pure blood of Al Ghul. Grayson and maybe Todd and even you might look like street trash, but not I."

"Hey, I didn't say it, Ed did." Tim shrugged.

"Yeah, and Ed can't help hisself what he says."

"That moron didn't say anything!" Damian argued.

"Ain't no way there was even enough time for 'im to say it all," the chair guard added.

"Well Ed, 'e's mighty thrifty with his words and stuff."

"He didn't say anything!" Jason growled. "Dick, stop helping the nut-case."

Dick ignored Jason and instead continued talking to the guards. "Well, how about we ask Ed if he said anything. He'll know for sure, 'cause, you know, he said it."

"Yeah, okay, the gypsy boy's right." Lewis turned to Ed. "Ed, you said somethin', right?"

There was a long pause and Ed just stared at them before finally shrugging.

"See!" Tim exclaimed. "He said of course he said something."

"Yeah, I knews it."

"Oh yeah, I heard him that time," Jason hissed. "He said 'somebody should gag the gypsy boy and toss him out the window'."

"Did 'e really?" Lewis looked appalled.

"Always knew he didn't like me," Dick sighed. "From the moment we set eyes on each other."

"Don't worry, Dick," Tim patted his arm consolingly. "He's probably just racist. I'm sure he would say the same thing about Damian."

"Drake, I will-"

"'Ey, Enrique, you think we should listen to Ed?"

"Don't be an idiot. He didn't say anything!"

"Now you're just bein' mean. He didn't do nothin' to you, why yous ignoring him?"

"Yeah, come on now, Enrique," Dick huffed. "He was mean to me but I'm not ignoring him. I mean, you guys are on the same team and all even."

"Tt, that was horrible sentence structure, Grayson."

"Enrique, you're just a meany! It'snot like he insulted you or nothin'."

"Uh oh, now you've made him mad, Enrique." Tim shot a worried look at Ed. "He's threatening to, oh, wow…."

"Better not say it out loud, Timmy," Dick counseled. "There's little ears nearby."

"My ears are not lacking size!"

"No, you're right," Jason agreed. "They're actually huge. You look like an elephant or a mouse or something. Kinda like Dick."

"I do not have big ears, Jay!"

"I look nothing like Grayson, or a mouse!"

"Ed, don't swear at 'im. 'E didn't mean it, didja Enrique?"

"'E's not swearing at me, idiot!"

"Ouch, the words are hurting my ears," Tim winced.

"You all are brain-addled! He hasn't said anything this whole time!"

"Careful Dami, you don't want him mad at you, do you?"

"You guys are pathetic."

"Come on, Ed, 'e'll apologize to yous. Go on Enrique, apologize to 'im."

"I ain't apologizing to no one."

"It's okay, Ed, he's just a butthead."

"Why am I part of this freaking family? We can't even get kidnapped normally."

"This is pathetic. I should ask father to un-adopt all of you."

"Maybe if I sing to him he'll calm down. Lewis, does he like music?"

"Oh yeah, 'e loves it."

"Yeah, Dick, you should sing to him."

"No! Stop it now! Dick, do not sing or I will strangle you!"

"Father will hear of all of this!"

"_Hush little Eddy, don't say a word-"_

"That's good Dick, that's good. I think it's working."

"_Dickie's gonna buy you a mockingbird." _

"Wow, yous gypsy folks sing good."

"Make 'im shut up, Lewis."

"I'm trying, Enrique, that's why the boy's a singing to 'im."

"_If that mockingbird don't sing-"_

"No, make the boy shut up!"

"Shush now, Enrique, yous be interrupting the song."

"_Dickie's gonna buy you a diamond ring."_

"Keep it up, Dick."

"No, shut up now, Dick-head, or I'll throw you out the window myself."

"I will make sure Father never asks you to pick us from school again and you never taste Pennyworth's cooking again."

"_If that diamond ring don't shine-"_

_Crash!_

A red and yellow blur shot through the newly made hole in the wall and next thing Dick knew he was staring at the leg of Wally West dressed as Kid Flash.

"Hey, Boy Hostage."

"KF, what are you doing here?" Dick demanded.

"Saving you, of course."

"Not you!" Jason moaned.

"I wasn't planning on saving you," Wally retorted.

"Tt, Father sent you to rescue us?"

"You are the most ungrateful captives I've ever rescued."

"_I'm_ glad you're here," Tim piped up.

"Good, well, I'll just take you and go."

"KF, they have guns!"

"Oh, right."

Wally became a blur of color and the next moment the three guards were lying on their back, moaning and rubbing their heads and wondering what had just happened.

"Oh, and for your information, Demon Child," Wally shot at Damian. "Supes and Bats are in the other part of the building taking down the Skulls or Snakes or whatever these guys are called. Bats tracked you after you didn't come home and called me specially to assist in rescue. Oh, and Superman too I guess. That's where the hole came from." He pointed to the hole in the wall he'd recently run through. "But honestly, I've been more help than that pretty boy."

"Are you going to un-handcuff us or gloat in your victory?" Dick asked, holding out his hands.

"I thought you Bats would be capable of doing such a thing yourself." Wally spent a minute picking Dick's handcuffs before finally they fell free. Dick reached down and grabbed the key from Enrique's belt and unlocked his brother's handcuffs in seconds.

"You could've told me about that," Wally huffed.

"I figured you needed the practice."

"West, you wanna grab our stuff from the table?" Jason asked, standing up and stretching his back.

"Yeah, my pants are falling down," Dick added, gingerly rubbing his wrists before going over and helping Tim to his feet.

"TMI, Dick," Wally said, shoving their retrieved belongings at the younger boy.

Dick passed out the shoes, belts, watches, and phones to his brothers.

"Is Bats gonna come back and give us a lift home?" Jason asked, threading his belt back into his pants. "Cuz I'm not in the mood for the West Express today."

"You outgrew that, Todd," Wally replied. "The Batmobile's out front."

"Finally!" Damian moaned, moving quickly to the hole in the wall, the limp in his gate still there, but being ignored at the moment. "Wait until Father hears about your behavior!"

Wally raised an eyebrow at the remaining brothers.

"Dick sang to the guards." And then Jason took off after Damian.

oOo

They were finally all back home again and getting patched up down in the Batcave. Superman and Kid Flash were both still there (Bruce had grudgingly allowed them to stay after Alfred invited them for dinner) and Barbara had turned up after hearing the news. Dick sat on an examination table, his arm in a heavy, black brace, watching as Leslie tended to Tim. Both Jason and Dick had had the glass removed from the few cuts that had had any glass in them, and both had gotten a few stitches on the really deep ones. Damian's ankle had been taken care of and was now wrapped and braced (thankfully it wasn't broken) and the youngest boy was now sitting in the chair at the Batcomputer ranting to Bruce about everything that had happened and the incompetence of his brothers. Dick could tell Bruce was mildly amused.

They'd all been fortunate to escape without any major injuries; though Tim had a rather severe concussion and ten stitches in the gash on his head and was confined to bed and Jason had a cracked rib which he'd done a remarkably good job of hiding. Dick's wrist was broken and Leslie had decided that he needed surgery to put plates and screws into the bone if it was going to heal right (and quickly, though she hadn't said that part out loud). He also had a very mild concussion from hitting his head on the steering wheel, but Leslie said he only had to take it easy for a day or until his headache went away. Damian was supposed to be off his feet for at least a week, maybe two, and couldn't participate in any 'extracurricular activities' for at least two weeks. Dick doubted any of his brothers would follow much of Leslie's advice, though.

Batman and Superman had shut down the Snake's Skull gang, at least the part in Gotham, but Lee had escaped. Dick told Bruce about him being the leader of the UK branch of the gang and Bruce said he would look into it over the next week. The three guards were being locked up and awaiting trial along with the rest of the gang hidden throughout the three buildings. Everything was falling into place, like it often did after events like this, though Dick knew this would probably open a whole new case on the branches of Snake's Skull gang and how far its arm stretched. Nightwing was looking forward to it. It would probably mean an opportunity to work in close contact with the rest of Batfamily and he hadn't realized until today how much he missed spending time with his siblings. They'd never been kidnapped together like that before, and Dick found it definitely beat being kidnapped alone.

"And then he started singing, Father!" Damian's voice carried across the Batcave as he grew more indignant. "Like it was some kind of game or something. It was pathetic."

Dick smiled. Damian grew on him every day and he hoped maybe this new case would provide some opportunities for them to work together. He'd always kind of wanted a sidekick….

* * *

**A/N:  
**

And the end! I hope you all enjoyed this and you can all thank XxNeonShadowsxX for the awesome idea! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all choose to review! And if you are following my other story, Fix You, I hope to post a new chapter tomorrow!

Review responses:

**Guest: **Thank you! I hope I fulfilled your wishes!

**starwarsfan15: **Haha, I'm glad you caught that part! Thank you!

**soccernin19: **Thank you very much!

**KaliAnn: **too true. Thank you for reviewing!

**Zeldalsis: **Glad you like it! Thank you!

**READINGhearts17: **Thanks for the review!

**Bethisafan17: **Glad you liked it!

**XxNeonShadowsxX: **I'm so glad it lived up to your expectations! It was such an awesome idea and I loved writing it! Thank you for the amazing review! Your reviews seriously make my day! Thank you so much! YOu more than deserve this!

**Broken Antler in Winter: **Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**superstoyboi124: **Thanks for reading and reviewing and I'm sorry, but I wrote this all out before posting it so it would be too hard to add anything.

**Leradomi: **Thank you so much!

Alex out.


End file.
